Page 114 of Unexpected

Devon returned the look and gave her a small, appreciative smile before he turned back to Luke.

“She’d really like that,” Devon said, and then he cleared his throat. “Your turn.”

Luke laughed and moved his hand from my shoulder to the back of my neck, sweeping the hair behind me. He brushed his thumb over the sensitive spot behind my ear and gazed at me with sparkling green eyes before he broke into a smile that lit up his entire face.

I hoped he’d always look at me like that, like I was everything.

“I think I already said what I was thankful for, but—”

“Actually, I know what I’m thankful for,” Blakely spoke up. Every eye landed on her, the look of hatred firmly back in place. She didn’t wait for our attention to continue, “I’m thankful for being independent and being able to think critically about a situation. Because at this point, I think I may be the only person at this table that can do so. And you know what—”

Amanda shot out of her seat suddenly as the rest of the group shook their heads and urged Blakely to “seriously shut the hell up,” as Reed so eloquently put it. Luke’s hand was shaking on the back of my neck and with my mouth still agape from Blakely’s obvious speech directed mostly toward him or us, I looked over at him. It seemed like his jaw was permanently tense in her presence, and from my position next to him, I could still see the pulsing veins in his forehead and neck. The veins I’d only seen a few times in the past few weeks, and they only appeared when he was straining to control his anger.

“Blakely, I need to talk to you,” Amanda said through clenched teeth. Her hands were balled in fists at her sides and the small, blonde woman looked like she was going to beat her friend's ass at that moment.

“Amanda—” Blakely attempted to say, but Amanda cut her off.

“Unless the next words out of your mouth are, ‘Okay, Amanda, let’s go outside and chat,’ I don’t want to hear it.”

Blakely closed her mouth, grabbed her wineglass, and with one last glance in our direction, left the table.But the scathing look I expected to see wasn’t there. Instead, I swore I saw fear, or maybe even pain, across her features.

Luke was vibrating with rage next to me while everyone else looked around at each other for a moment before James said something about clearing the table.

All four of the remaining men at the table stood and made quick work of clearing the plates, utensils, and empty glasses. Luke didn’t move, though, so neither did I. As soon as Blakely left the table, Luke removed his hand from my neck, and I immediately missed the warmth and security of his touch.His hands were steepled under his chin and his eyes were somewhere far away from where we sat.

I was completely out of my element in how to help him. His leg was bouncing under the table and his shoulders were bunched together. I could feel waves of intense emotion and frustration rolling off him. With no other good ideas coming to mind, I twisted my fingers in the shorter hair at the base of his neck, scraping my nails lightly against his scalp.

His response was immediate. He dropped his head lower, his palms pressed against his face, and sighed into my touch. Shoulders instantly relaxing, the change was palpable. So, I continued to weave my hands in and out of his hair, scratching his scalp and along the sides of his neck, hoping to coax away the stress.

“It’s been less than a week since I told you about Valerie, and I’m already second-guessing everything.” He slumped farther forward. I waited for him to continue talking, but when he didn’t say anything for a long moment, and the quiet clanking of dishes and his heavy breathing was all that filled the air, I had to break the silence.

“What’s the full story? What else did Blakely have to say?”

He sighed and sat up to look at me. For a moment, it seemed like he wasn’t going to tell me, but with a shake of his head, he said, “Blakely omitted some information about what happened with Valerie last time. She told me Valerie only called her and threatened her and backed off when Blake said we were done… but that’s apparently not what happened. Earlier, she told me the actual story, and now, Angel, I’m fucking terrified for you. I’m furious that Blake would leave out anything, especially the information she did, and especially when it comes to Valerie.”

He was fuming and my hand in his hair was no longer working to calm him—I didn’t know if anything would. Not to mention, this revelation had my panic spiking. My chest constricted and I dropped my hands to my lap, trying and failing to control my breathing and the vicious intrusive thoughts.

“What—what do you mean?” I stuttered. I wasn’t so concerned when I thought Blakely was just jealous that Luke was giving another woman attention or when I believed that she was concerned enough for me. Knowing there was more to the story may have changed everything.

I could handle incessant phone calls and veiled threats because I was working off the assumption that Valerie never actually made good on any of them. But judging by the look on Luke’s face, he was genuinely worried for me.

His only response was to place his hand on one side of my face and run his thumb over the corner of my mouth before he kissed me softly and with such emotion that I almost broke. Never had a kiss conveyed so much in such a brief time; it was only a second or two—not long enough to build any additional tension—and he pulled back.

“I’d rather have this conversation alone. Can you stay tonight?”

I nodded, and he gave a half-hearted smile.

FORTY-ONE

Hazel

Sadly,the aftermath of Blakely’s outburst lasted the rest of the night. Even after several not-so-subtle hints from all her friends, Blakely stayed until the bitter end, throwing annoyed glances at me and Luke. Her attitude put a stain on what would have been a really fun night.

We were able to play a few games and sat outside drinking and laughing around a small fire and the heater before it became too cold.

Blakely and Amanda were the first to leave, and Amanda and I exchanged numbers. She promised to text me soon and said that she was excited to have a new friend. I didn’t miss the look Blakely sent my direction when her supposed best friend made the comment, but I had a comfortable buzz going from a few glasses of wine and hot toddies, so I didn’t care as much.

I hugged Amanda tightly as Blakely walked out the front door.

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